CTA lays out el, bus cuts; moves to hike fares

(Crain's) -- The Chicago Transit Authority on Thursday lowered the doomsday budget boom, declaring that it would have to jack up fares and slash service so much that it will lose 260,000 riders a day unless state lawmakers come to the financial rescue.

Under the proposal unveiled by newly installed CTA President Ron Huberman, single-ride fares would leap to as much as $3.25 a trip during rush hours, and the cost of a monthly pass would rise 63% to $122. Service on 63 bus lines -- those which currently do not operate on Sundays -- would be suspended, as would the Skokie Swift and Evanston Express trains.

Draconian as those measures are, they could have been worse. Mr. Huberman's plan proposes to fill half of a $110-million hole in the CTA's 2007 budget by shifting $56.9 million from maintenance on buses and el train cars to operations, an expedient he conceded could not continue long.

Mr. Huberman said the cuts and fare hikes will have to be implemented around mid-September unless the Illinois General Assembly approves one of several pending plans to boost aid to the CTA, Metra and Pace. Absent his proposal or a legislative bailout, the CTA "would be out of business in October, unable to make payroll," he said.

Meanwhile, the Regional Transportation Authority on Thursday proposed to solve the crisis by authorizing new taxes that would raise $400 million a year. Included would be a quarter-cent sales tax in the six-county RTA region and a 0.3% real estate transfer tax in Chicago.

Mr. Huberman, who succeeded Frank Kruesi as CTA boss just a month ago, termed his proposal "painful" but says the CTA has little room to maneuver, given that it now is nearly halfway into its budget year and was counting on an additional $110 million in public aid this year.

"After careful analysis, I am recommending the approach I believe most fairly distributes the impact on our customers," Mr. Huberman said. "Of all the options available to us, this plan puts the least direct burden on our riders."

Under the plan:

Service would be suspended on 63 bus routes that now operate on weekdays or Saturdays but not Sundays. Included are the 2 Hyde Park Express, 39 Pershing, 85A North Central, 96 Lunt, 135 Clarendon/LaSalle Express and 108 Halsted/95th, as well as five express buses that ferry commuters from Metra train stations to the east side of downtown.

All service would end on the Skokie Swift Yellow Line, and Evanston trains would run only in Evanston. All other rail routes would operate at current service levels.

Rail fares would be priced higher than bus fares, and rush-hour service would cost more than non-rush service. For instance, a single cash fare on a bus would rise to $2.25 in non-rush periods and $2.75 in rush periods (6:30- 9:30 a.m. and 4-7 p.m.) from $2 at all times now. A single cash rail fare would go to $2.50 in non-rush periods and $3.25 in rush periods from $2 at all times now.

Chicago Card user would still get a 10% discount, but on a raised-rate structure. The full-fare 30-day pass would rise to $122 from $75.

The CTA will implement further management cuts on top of several dozen jobs that were cut last week, with 27 more positions axed, all pay hikes deferred for non-union employees, and managers making $50,000 a year or more being asked to take one to three unpaid furlough days. Mr. Huberman said he will take four furlough days.

CTA officials projected that the cuts and fare hikes, if approved by the CTA board and not averted by legislative action, would cost the agency 260,000 weekday riders, about a sixth of its current total of 1.6 million.

Mr. Huberman acknowledged that the transfer of funds from vehicle maintenance to operations is "a short-term fix." If the CTA continued such a step into next year, it likely would begin to run out of serviceable vehicles, he said.

All told, the fare increases will net $20 million, service cuts will save $15 million, and the new administrative cuts will save $5.6 million, according to the CTA.

Mr. Huberman said he remains hopeful that legislators will approve some rescue plan.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and every other official who is elected statewide lives in Chicago or in a nearby suburb with CTA service. So do Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Emil Jones, both Chicagoans.

The CTA will hold a series of public hearings on the proposal in June, including a session at 9 a.m. on June 13 at its headquarters, 567 W. Lake St.

Recommended for You

Sign up for newsletters

Morning 10

-

Need-to-know stories from Crain's and around the web. Monday-Friday at 7 a.m.

Today's Crain's

-

A roundup of the day's important business news. Monday-Friday around 3 p.m.

Breaking News Alerts

-

Up-to-the-minute info on what's happening in Chicago business right now.

Health Pulse Chicago

-

Your source for actionable, exclusive and inside news and data on the health care industry. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:30 a.m.